The second Digital Innovation Asia Awards (www.DIAawards.com), recognizing the most innovative, creative, and performance-driven e-tourism initiatives in Asia. The DIA Awards presents awards for the tourism industry, as well as for the first time this year for bloggers.
Absolute Hotel Services Co, a local hotel management firm, is eyeing the purchase of at least 20 hotels abroad in the next five years. A new company will be established in London in the third quarter. Apart from Absolute Hotel Services, a venture fund with US$100 million in assets is already committed to be one of the key stakeholders. The company will raise funds from other sources in London as well. Chief executive Jonathan Wigley said Absolute is expected to list on the London Stock Exchange.
Mr Orny is a French national with more than eight years hotel industry experience with leading hotels such as Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas, Hua Hin; Aleenta Resort and Spa Phuket, Phang Nga; and Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square.
Mr. Sjostedt is a Swedish national who has worked with leading Scandinavian tour operators and has experience in various countries including Greece, Spain, Brazil and Cyprus.
Thirayuth Chirathivat, Chief Executive Officer of Centara Hotels & Resorts has announced the appointment of Scott Bowen as General Manager of the Blue Marine Resort & Spa Phuket, Managed by Centara Hotels & Resorts.
William Haandrikman has become the new general manager of the Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit. A Dutch national, Haandrikman has worked for Accor since 1992, including management roles in eight countries. Most recently he was GM of the Sofitel Shanghai Jing’an Huamin in China.
Ludovic Gallerne has become the new area director of sales & marketing for the Banyan Tree and Angsana Laguna Phuket. A French national, Gallerne brings 18 years’ experience to the role, including spells with JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Anantara Bangkok Riverside Resort.
Holiday Inn Pattaya is pleased to announce the appointment of Kate Gerits as General Manager, where she brings with her over 19 years of experience in the InterContinental Hotels Group. Kate commenced her career in hotel operations in 1995 at Holiday Inn Old Sydney before being accepted into the Corporate Traineeship Program. Since then, she has worked across various properties including Landmark Parkroyal Sydney, Holiday Inn Brisbane, Crowne Plaza Newcastle, and Holiday Inn Darwin. At present, Kate is also the current brand advocate for Holiday Inn Australasia, and is well-recognised as the driving force in the successful IHG Rewards Clu b program.
A Swiss and Finnish citizen, Christian is fluent in 6 European languages including Italian and German. He is a graduate of the Lausanne Hotel Management school.
Marie Laure Fleury joined the Montara Hospitality Group as Resort Manager at Trisara prior to her appointment as General Manager to oversee the re-development of the award-winning Boathouse on Kata Beach boutique resort in Phuket. Marie had left France to pursue a hotel career initially in Hong Kong with The Peninsula Group and later in Bangkok at The Sukhothai Hotel before joining Trisara as its Resort Manager.
A highly respected and familiar name in the hospitality industry, Mr. Black has over 30 years of experience in every facet of hotel management and development across Asia Pacific. After having worked for the Regent and Four Seasons chains including the Bangkok property for 18 years, Mr. Black went on to form his own boutique hotel group which subsequently became the Singapore-based SilverNeedle Hospitality Group, where he served as President until his retirement last year. For the last eight years he has been an Executive Director of Montara Hospitality Group.
Sireeampan Boutique Resort & Spa, an intimate 11-suite luxury resort in the heart of Chiang Mai opens today, in time to welcome the Chinese New Year of the Horse. With an exquisitely intricate design inspired by the Thai royal manors of the 18th century, Sireeampan Boutique Resort & Spa brings together the rich traditions of Siamese hospitality with modern luxury, offering highly personalized experiences for each guest.
HVS Bangkok Director Christian Pucher recently shared updates and counsel for the hotels in his locale: The protests that began in November 2013 have been taking their toll on hotels' performance amidst what would regularly be the high season. Occupancies are said to be down by 20-40 % on average as travelers cancel or postpone their trips to the City. As the protests are localized to specific areas of the city, some hotels near the protest sites are feeling the impact considerably more than others. "Past conflicts have shown that the market is resilient and that occupancies tend to recuperate to normal levels within three to four months of conflict resolution. As the situation prolongs over time, the immediate threat is that some hotels will be challenged to meet their financial obligations, which in turn would have a short-term negative impact on employment in the Bangkok hotel market," explains Pucher. "The long-term threat lies in the reduction of market- wide average hotel rates. As the situation normalizes, hotels will need to make efforts to help bring back business, through tactical promotional offers - targeted and limited to a period of time.. However, during and after previous crises, the market had reacted differently, in that rates were actually dropped across the board rather than launching temporary offers." "It is very hard to rebuild rates once they have been lowered, affecting returns over a longer period," adds Pucher. Over the past eight years, Bangkok hotel performance has suffered as a result of several political conflicts, flooding, as well as the slow recovery of the global economy. These conflicts have had a direct negative effect on hotel occupancies as visitors have deferred their travel plans to the city. Additionally, hotel rates have been largely stagnant or even depressed over the last few years through a combination of all of the preceding factors - global economic slowdown, political unrest in the region, increasing appeal of other neighboring cities, and stiff competition induced by an augmentation in supply which is set to continue for the next few years. Additionally,, with a surge in real estate prices, escalating construction costs, as well as higher operating costs-returns on hotel investments have become less attractive. "While the overall economic and political scenario has had an impact on multiple industries and sectors across the spectrum, it is important to remember that the hospitality industry is cyclical in nature and is typically one of the first to rebound, post downturns and crises.," explains Pucher. "Hence, despite the prevailing issues, Bangkok remains and will continue to grow as an attractive destination for tourism and particularly the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions/Events (MICE) segment, which has driven occupancies and contributed to overall growth, since 2012." With the upcoming launch of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015, tourism will continue to grow as will investment from member countries into Thailand, which will drive corporate, transient and MICE business. Furthermore, Bangkok has the opportunity, through its overall offering, to emerge as one of the top global destinations for MICE. An increase in MICE business would help the much needed growth in average rates, however becoming a global MICE destination will require a collaborative effort; hotels will need to work more closely with one another as well as with national organizations such as the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB). [if !supportLineBreakNewLine]
A hotel price war is expected in Bangkok once the political turmoil ends. Tourism-related businesses expect to see losses from the anti-government protests that began last November at the start of the high season. However, when the political unrest ends and the hotel sector starts to bounce back, hoteliers will probably use pricing to grab a larger slice of the cake.
Located only one block from the island's popular Patong Beach, and within walking distance from the Jungceylon shopping and leisure complex, the dusitD2 Phuket Resort aims to become a destination in its own right, boasting 390 guest rooms and suites and an array of iconic lifestyle and entertainment outlets including a Hard Rock Café.
Denis Thouvard has been appointed general manager of the Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket. Thouvard has more than 20 years’ hotel experience, including spells in France, Hong Kong and the UK. He previously held the position of area general manager at the Centara Grand Beach Resort in Phuket.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today the official opening of Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort, located in one of Southeast Asia’s premier resort locations. Developed by Kamala Bay Ventures – which through its affiliates also owns Park Hyatt Siem Reap and Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa – Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort is the first Hyatt-branded property in Phuket and the second Hyatt resort in Thailand, following Hyatt Regency Hua Hin.
Euromonitor (2013) forecasted that Thailand’s health and wellness tourism will continue to grow, becoming a market worth ca. US$ 32 billion market by 2017, with its main contributions still coming from international consumers.
The hotel supply pipeline for Thailand as of September 2013 stood at 93 hotels, representing about 16,000 rooms according to STR Global. Of this, 30 hotels and about 4,700 rooms are currently under construction. As would be expected, most of the supply pipeline is concentrated in the key markets of Bangkok (30 hotels, 6,000 rooms) and Phuket (22 hotels, 3,500 rooms). Pattaya is another market that has a significant pipeline of hotel projects, with 16 hotel projects identified, representing about 3,300 rooms to be added to the market, mostly expected over the next three years. With some questions on Pattaya’s ability to absorb the supply pipeline in the coming years, generally, we do not see an issue of oversupply for Thailand, as tourism growth is expected to remain strong.
CapitaLand's wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), has extended its footprint to Thailand's Eastern Seaboard economic region. It has won a contract to manage a 133-unit serviced residence in Sri Racha district, Chonburi province. Scheduled to open in 2014, the new Citadines Grand Central Sri Racha will enhance Ascott's pole position as the largest international serviced residence owner- operator in Thailand with over 1,800 apartment units across 10 properties.